BOGAEVSKY

BOGAEVSKY, Aksenty Trofimovich, born in 1848 into a poor peasant family in Poltava Province. After graduating from the medical faculty of Kiev University in 1874, he began working as a zemstvo district physician in Poltava Province. These were the early years of zemstvo medicine, when a physician was required not only to treat patients but also to create and implement a public organization of medical assistance among the population, which had previously been completely deprived of it. B., through his direct work in the village and his constant participation in organizational efforts (from the district sanitary council to all-Russian Pirogov congresses), rightfully occupies one of the foremost places among the founders of public medicine in Russia. In the early 1880s, B. became head of the hospital in Kremenchug and remained in this position for many years. B. made a great contribution to the development of practical surgery. He was one of the first zemstvo physicians to introduce modern scientific methods of surgery into the modest zemstvo hospital; B., the first in the province, began performing abdominal operations. His example inspired his younger colleagues, and as is known, surgical practice in zemstvo medicine was raised to a high level; the great achievements of scientific surgery were brought close to the rural population. B. published numerous articles on surgery (about 80 scientific works). For his scientific activities, B. was elected Doctor of Medicine honoris causa by the council of Kiev University. He was awarded the title of Hero of Labor and a personal pension.